We have some early games on the schedule and four choices for your DRAFT time slots: 14 games (12:35 pm), nine games (3:35 pm), seven games (7:10 pm), and four games (9:40 pm).
There is also a postponed game already, STL/CHC. Unfortunately, that removes Luke Weaver and Tommy Pham from our player pool.
This article is posted well before lineups are released by the managers. If you have a question, feel free to reach me on Twitter @CharlieSideHstl.
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Pitchers
- Gerrit Cole, HOU (@ SEA)
- Carlos Carrasco, CLE (@ MIN)
- Robbie Ray, ARI (vs. SF)
- Andrew Triggs, OAK (vs. CWS)
- Kenta Maeda, LAD (@ SD)
- Jose Berrios, MIN (vs. CLE)
- J.A. Happ, TOR (vs. KC)
- Rick Porcello, BOS (@ LAA)
- Jake Faria, TB (vs. TEX)
- Tanner Roark, WSH (@ NYM)
At first glance, the average fan would be unimpressed by this starting pitcher pool. However, I assure you, it’s loaded. Cole leads all of baseball with an amazing 15.43 K/9 this season. He’s tallied at least 11 strikeouts in each outing (36 punch outs in 21 innings).
Ray and Happ are fifth and sixth, respectively, in K/9 this season. The Arizona ace has notched 23 strikeouts in 15.2 innings of work. On Wednesday, Ray will face the same team from his previous start, San Francisco. In his last outing, Ray struck out six Giants in 4.2 innings (three earned runs).
As for Happ, he punched out nine batters in back-to-back performances. Also, the Royals have scored the fewest runs in baseball (39 runs in 13 games).
Infielders
- Eric Thames, MIL (vs. CIN)
- Freddie Freeman, ATL (vs. PHI)
- Justin Smoak, TOR (vs. KC)
- Ryan Braun, MIL (vs. CIN)
- Manny Machado, BAL (@ DET)
- Travis Shaw, MIL (vs. CIN)
- Joey Votto, CIN (@ MIL)
- Paul Goldschmidt, ARI (vs. SF)
- Zack Cozart, LAA (vs. BOS)
- Jed Lowrie, OAK (vs. CWS)
- Matt Olson, OAK (vs. CWS)
- Carlos Correa, HOU (@ SEA)
- Trea Turner, WSH (@ NYM)
- Cody Bellinger, LAD (@ SD)
- Ian Kinsler, LAA (vs. BOS)
- J.D. Martinez, BOS (@ LAA)
- Francisco Lindor, CLE (@ MIN)
- Brian Dozier, MIN (vs. CLE)
- Daniel Descalso, ARI (vs. SF)
- Buster Posey, SF (@ ARI)
Milwaukee is third on Wednesday’s rankings, in terms of implied run total (4.9). That’s why three members of the Brew Crew are in the top six of the infielder DRAFT rankings. Thames (.286), Shaw (.249), and Braun (.208) all had stellar ISO numbers against right-handed pitchers in 2017. Their opposing pitcher for Wednesday’s game, Tyler Mahle, allowed five earned runs in back-to-back starts, too.
Oakland is tied for the highest implied run total of the slate (5.1). One hitter who’s been on fire for them recently is Lowrie. On his birthday, Tuesday, Lowrie tallied 17 DRAFT fantasy points (2-for-4, HR). In the past week, he’s 11-for-26 (.423) with three home runs and 11 RBI.
Outfielders
- Bryce Harper, WSH (@ NYM)
- Mike Trout, LAA (vs. BOS)
- Khris Davis, OAK (vs. CWS)
- George Springer, HOU (@ SEA)
- Matt Joyce, OAK (vs. CWS)
- Mookie Betts, BOS (@ LAA)
- Lorenzo Cain, MIL (vs. CIN)
- Rhys Hoskins, PHI (@ ATL)
- Charlie Blackmon, COL (@ PIT)
- Domingo Santana, MIL (vs. CIN)
- Starling Marte, PIT (vs. COL)
- Jesse Winker, CIN (@ MIL)
- Curtis Granderson, TOR (vs. KC)
- Shin-Soo Choo, TEX (@ TB)
- Trey Mancini, BAL (@ DET)
- Yasiel Puig, LAD (@ SD)
- A.J. Pollock, ARI (vs. SF)
- Christian Yelich, MIL (vs. CIN)
- Andrew McCutchen, SF (@ ARI)
- Matt Kemp, LAD (@ SD)
While Washington doesn’t have as high as an implied run total as the other teams mentioned (4.1), you can’t pass on Harper. He’s homered in two of the last three games and leads all of baseball with eight total home runs and 18 RBI.
An outfielder who could surprise you on Wednesday is Marte. He has tallied 10 hits in 26 AB (.385 AVG) in the past week. He’s also swiped three bases, which is a strong category in the DRAFT fantasy world.
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Adam Meyer is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Adam, check out his archive and follow him @CharlieSideHstl.
